Oregon bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein turned to the Internet to raise money to cover a $135,000 court fine levied against them last week because they refused on religious grounds to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple.
However within hours of opening their appeal on GoFundMe, the social media crowdfunding site
shut down their web page after gay activists complained the couple was spreading hate.
The Kleins have become the latest target in the culture war between religious liberty and gay rights as the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage. The Sweet Cakes bakery case followed the Richland florists in Washington state and the Memories Pizza parlor in Indiana as targets of anger after the owners expressed their opposition to providing their services to gay weddings.
The controversy over defending traditional marriage has even reached the pin-striped corridors of some of the nation's top law firms. Many attorneys say they
won't take such cases because of the possible backlash.
The latest conflict erupted on Twitter where gay advocates attacked the bakers and Christian tweeters defended them.
The case even attracted the attention of evangelist Franklin Graham.
Tim Holbrook, who describes himself as both a Christian and a gay activist, dismissed claims that advocates of traditional marriage are bullied by gay activists.
In an
opinion piece on CNN.com, Holbrook wrote: "The suggestion that opposition to same-sex marriage has been silenced due to bullying rings untrue. Instead, the opposition wants to speak without having to encounter a response. That isn't free speech."